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Phil wrests golf news from deer antler spray

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 22:33:00 GMT

The week in golf began with deer antler spray in the news and Vijay Singh invoking the George Costanza defense ("Was that wrong? Should I not have done that? I tell you, I gotta plead ignorance on this thing"). A more credible explanation might have been a twist on an old cliche, that it takes a five-point buck to make a buck.

Singh subsequently withdrew from the Waste Management Phoenix Open, depriving the large and raucous crowds there the opportunity to render their vocal judgment on one of the game's oddest controversies. However the PGA Tour views his transgression, Singh playing the 16th hole at the TPC Scottsdale might have been punishment enough.

Phil Mickelson greets fans walking up the 18th fairway at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Photo: AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

Into this void stepped Phil the Thrill, Mickelson his own three-ring circus, wresting the news from deer antler spray (and beam-ray lights and hologram chips, the other accoutrements of Singh's training regimen).

Mickelson was dazzling all week, opening with an 11-under par 60 that came within an 18th-hole lipout of 59 and leading wire-to-wire in winning for the 41st time in his PGA Tour career.

Nick Faldo once won the British Open by making 18 straight pars in the final round. The odds of Mickelson ever playing with similar efficient monotony are roughly the same as deer antler spray curing your slice. Or your rheumatism.

It is what makes him the greatest show on turf. You never know what to expect, other than to expect something special when you least expect it. For instance, a week after struggling to make the cut in his hometown, he exhibited his Hall of Fame bona fides at the Phoenix Open.

The desert hare that he pulled from his hat was a first-round 60 that he followed with a 65, a round that included a double-bogey on the 18th hole, for those who might have been given reason to expect sustained brilliance. His third-round 64 included birdies on the last four holes and he hit it stiff at 16, thrilling the stadium crowd there that never requires a reason to raise a ruckus.

The big tease carried over into the final round, too, where he allowed his six-stroke lead to be halved by Brandt Snedeker, before closing out his third career victory in this event, this one by a margin of four.

Mickelson and the Phoenix Open were made for one another. An Arizona State graduate and former resident of Scottsdale, Mickelson is akin to a favorite son here, and the manner in which he connects to crowds has further endeared him.

"Phil has picked up where Arnold [Palmer] left off," NBC's Peter Jacobsen said, alluding to the man who set the standard in developing a rapport with crowds. "He really embraces the whole atmosphere, not just this hole, but he does it every week. He's consistent."

The Phoenix crowds, meanwhile, provide an annual and necessary reminder that golf needn't be a funereal experience, that fun has its place. And they never have more fun than they do when Mickelson is in the middle of it, though they might have proved otherwise had Singh elected to play.

One can only speculate what the volatile mix of sun, beer and deer antler spray might have produced, but suffice it to say that it would have been memorable.

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Media: 'They can get tired next week, OK?'

Sat, 29 Sep 2012 23:50:00 GMT

(Getty Images photo)

By John Strege

Even on a day the U.S. opened a commanding lead, 8-4, in the Ryder Cup, American captain Davis Love III was unable to dodge criticism, most of it on Twitter, for his decision to sit the suddenly dynamic team of Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley in the afternoon fourball on Saturday.

Love was following on his intention of providing every player a rest for the purpose of having him fresh for Sunday singles. Yet Mickelson and Bradley dispatched Luke Donald and Lee Westwood in only 12 holes Saturday morning, in an alternate-shot format.

"Just saw the afternoon draw. Don't like that Phil and Keegan are sitting. They only played 12 holes earlier. They bring so much passion!" former U.S. Ryder Cup player Chris DiMarco said.

PGA Tour player Bob Estes replied with this: "@ChrisDiMarco Good point! 12 holes hitting every other shot. How tired can they be?!"

From PGA Tour player Joe Ogilvie, who is never shy about offering an opinion: "Herb Brooks decides not to play Mike Eruzione against Finland for the gold medal game...sorry I meant to say Davis not playing Phil/Keegan."

The inimitable Dan Jenkins summed it up this way: "So to recap: Davis is benching a 3-0 team (Phil & Keegan) and is trying again with an 0-2 team (Tiger & Stricker)."

Finally, NBC's Johnny Miller weighed in: "They can get tired next week, OK?"

It did nothing to support Love's case that the team of Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker lost again to go 0-3 in this Ryder Cup.

Good call, Johnny

Miller questioned the wisdom of Zach Johnson hitting driver at the short par-4 15th, when he possesses one of the best wedge games in golf. Indeed, Johnson proceeded to drive it into the water right of the fairway and green, leaving partner Jason Dufner to lay up.

They would up losing the hole to Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter, who evened their match there.

Careful, Gary

NBC's Gary Koch might have run afoul of Ian Poulter, as Johnny Miller once did, and Miller was there to warn him.

"Look at statistically, his ball striking by tour standards, pretty average," Koch said of Poulter.

"You're going to be tweeted for that one, Gary," Miller said.

"Statistics don't lie, Johnny," Koch replied.

Two years ago, Miller was critical of Poulter's ball-striking and Poulter responded via Twitter:

"Johnny miller saying today I wasn't a good ball striker. I guess I do alright for a duffer then. He talks such bollocks at times," Poulter wrote.

Related: What's Not To Like?

Stanford teammates? No

When discussing Luke Donald it was noted that he considered attending Stanford before settling on Northwestern.

"And had he gone to Stanford, maybe he would have played on the golf team with Tiger Woods," NBC's Peter Jacobsen said. "What a team that would have been with Notah Begay and Casey Martin."

Well, no. Donald was a Northwestern freshman in the fall of 1997. Woods left Stanford in 1996, Martin and Begay in 1995.

On Twitter

Arron Oberholser: "If Ian Poulter played this way every week he'd be #1 in the world"

David Feherty: "Bubba and Poulter are what the Ryder Cup is all about! Magic on grass, joy in sport, love to the fans. You've got to love them."

Follow @JohnStrege

MediaWatch: At least there was Johnny

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 22:31:00 GMT

It was good for those who were disinclined to kill an entire day watching televised golf, but Rory McIlroy's morning rout did not promise riveting television in the afternoon.

At least there was Johnny.

That would be Johnny Miller, the NBC analyst whose candor rankles some, notably players. But how would a broadcast be better served if the analyst didn't provide honest analysis?

Rather than agreeing with everything said about McIlroy, for instance, Miller challenged one widely held belief, that McIlory's back-nine collapse at Augusta National was a learning experience.

"Dottie [Pepper], what do you learn when you shoot 43 on the back nine at Augusta?" he asked. "Everyone says it's a learning experience. To me it's a haunting experience."

When McIlroy revealed in an interview with NBC's Bob Costas that he might spend his afternoon in a movie theater seeing "Hangover 2," Miller said, "Hangover one was at Augusta."

Later in the broadcast, Miller dismantled the swing of the reigning U.S. Open champion, Graeme McDowell, on Friday, after McDowell's approach to the 18th green squirted well right.

"He does not have a good swing, folks, I just want you to know," Miller said. "If you were to pick that swing apart there are about five things he does that are not wonderful. But it is his swing, I'll give him that much. It's all shut at the top, laid off, a lot of things going on."

The counter to Miller is Peter Jacobsen, nice guy who isn't given to critical analysis. "We'll have a boxing match on that," Jacobsen said to Miller regarding McDowell's swing. "I like Graeme McDowell's swing."

Some of the highs and lows from the rest of the day:

-- NBC's promo of the U.S. Women's Open was an embarrassment.

"Defending champion Paula Creamer tees off against Michelle Wie, Cristie Kerr and the top players in the world at the U.S. Women's Open. July 9th on NBC," it said. It didn't mention the best player in the world, Yani Tseng, who needs only a victory in the Women's Open to complete the women's grand slam. Wie, meanwhile, is ranked 10th.

Shamelessly, if predictably, it also featured a photo of Natalie Gulbis, who is ranked 109th and whose only victory came four years ago.

The MacKenzie Walker and 'Golf in the Kingdom'

John Strege — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:00:00 GMT

The MacKenzie Walker golf bag isn't new; the MacKenzie Golf Bag Company has been handcrafting them from leather for 25 years. What is new is that the MacKenzie Walker will appear in the film, "Golf...

Golf World Monday: A way to save the pro-am

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 14:08:00 GMT

From the Feb. 8 issue of Golf World Monday:

A deluge of rain was responsible last month at the Sony Open in Hawaii . Last week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, frozen greens were the culprit at TPC Scottsdale. For the second time in five events on the the PGA Tour's young 2011 schedule, a pro-am -- a tournament's lifeblood, where amateurs paying thousands of dollars get to tee it up with the pros -- was lost because of inclement weather.

Peter Jacobsen has an idea on how to salvage pro-ams when bad weather intervenes. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

"You know," said PGA Tour official Slugger White, "it's been kind of crazy this year." It's true that the freight of most amateurs' pro-am fees are being paid these days by corporate sponsors treating their clients or employees.

Jacobsen on mend after lower-back surgery

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 19:34:00 GMT

If Peter Jacobsen decided to pack it in for good after his most recent lower-back surgery, no one could blame him. The popular Champions Tour member has had an endless stream of physical woes since turning 50 in 2004, including receiving artificial replacements for his left hip and right knee. His latest procedure, in late August, was to correct a problem that had left him with an 80 percent strength loss in his left leg, making it hard to walk, much less play tour-caliber golf.

His maladies have limited the 56-year-old to 27 starts over the last three seasons, and he hasn't had a top-10 finish since a T-10 at the 2007 Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach. But Jacobsen is at least mildly optimistic about his health. "I'm back playing, doing some outings and at about only 20 percent strength loss in the leg," Jacobsen said. "I'm going to rehab and I've got a couple of good PTs who kick my butt and are getting me in shape. I'm excited about getting back and playing some golf next year. I've got my fingers crossed, but I want to know one way or another -- either I'm going to play or I'm not."

While he tries to get back to playing fit, Jacobsen is buoyed on two other fronts.

After having hosted the Fred Meyer Challenge 17 times from 1986-2002, he is returning an event to his hometown of Portland, Ore., in the form of "Peter's Party," a three-day tournament featuring eight two-person teams of Champions and PGA Tour pros at Portland GC, original home of the Fred Meyer. "I'm committed to keeping professional golf in Portland, and in the state of Oregon," said Jacobsen. The Jeld-Wen Tradition, operated by Jacobsen's sports and marketing firm, ended an eight-year run in Oregon this year.

His beloved Oregon football team, undefeated and seemingly unstoppable, also is making Jacobsen smile. "Go Ducks, baby," he said. "Let's hope they can keep it rolling. I had a skybox at Autzen Stadium when they won two or three games a year. I've been to about seven games this season, at home and on the road. Man, it's fun."

-- Bill Fields

Jacobsen will have back surgery next week

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 16:15:00 GMT

SAMMAMISH, Wash. - Peter Jacobsen's 69-68 effort with a sore hip on a 36-hole Sunday at Bellerive to win the 2004 U.S. Senior Open is one of the championship's finest hours, but the 56-year-old isn't in action at Sahalee CC this weekend.

One of the game's most popular players, Jacobsen, in pain and seven over after nine holes Friday after an opening 74, had to withdraw from the 2010 U.S. Senior Open and is scheduled to have back surgery next Wednesday in an attempt to alleviate persistent pain in his left leg stemming from nerve damage in his L-3 and L-4 disks. He will need to rest for six weeks following the operation, then rehab for six weeks, effectively ending his season.

"I've dealt with it all year, and it isn't getting any better," Jacobsen said. "I need to get it fixed. I'm hoping this is the last time I have to have surgery. I'll be back."

Jacobsen has had multiple surgeries in recent years, including for a left-shoulder rotator cuff (2009), right-knee replacement (2008), lower-back micro surgery (2007), left-hip replacement (2006), right-knee cartilage surgery (2005) and torn labrum in his left hip (2004).

-- John Strege

My Town: Peter Jacobsen

Bill Fields — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT

The tranquility of Central Oregon makes it a great place to visit for golfers and non-golfers alike

My Town: Jane Blalock

Bill Fields — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Boston's history and charm make a stay in the region more than the ordinary golf vacation

Green concerned about opportunities

John Strege — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 12:17:00 GMT

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Though he doesn't yet know whether or not he'll be physically or mentally able to play, Ken Green has already committed to the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic next week. The RV accident...